Road surface markings are required on paved roadways to provide signals and information for road traffic. Stripes are typically painted on either side of the road and between traffic lanes to indicate the width of the traffic lanes in which the vehicle can travel. Visibility and uniformity of road markings is important to provide consistency and uncertainty for driver safety.
Road stripes may be applied by traditional line painting techniques such as spraying or rolling a painted line along the pavement surface. More recently, reflective tapes, high performance epoxy paints, and plastic pavement markings have been used on pavement surfaces to provide greater visibility and uniformity than painting techniques can provide. In either case, road stripes are exposed to the effects of traffic, tire wear and road maintenance equipment, e.g., snow plow blades.
Recently, road maintenance technology has advanced to provide reflective tape or paint into a shallow recess or groove in the pavement surface. The groove is preferably a precise depth and width, and having sharp corners. The groove may be discontinuous over a section of the pavement surface creating a broken line in the pavement surface for reflective paint or tape.
Conventional cutting drums include removable cutting bits that are attached to the cutting drum via dovetail configurations to prevent the cutting bits from becoming dislodged while performing road maintenance. Such cutting bits are removable by sliding the bit laterally from the dovetail groove. After the cutting bits have been used to cut pavement they are difficult to remove from the cutting drum due to the high temperature and dust which accumulates on the groove. Also, it is difficult to hammer the bits laterally because of the tight clearance between the cutting drum and the housing walls. Furthermore, a horizontal retention system restricts an amount of the cutting bits that can be affixed to the cutting drum, as it is necessary to provide lateral space between the cutting bits in order to change the cutting bits.
Intended advantages of the disclosed systems and/or methods satisfy one or more of these needs or provide other advantageous features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.